-

Ordinary day

"Just a boy, just an ordinary boy, but he was looking to the sky..."

-

Shikamaru hummed, pouting his lips in thought as he moved yet another piece of shogi across the board, flicking his eyes up to the blonde that sat in front of him. She felt his gaze and lifted her own up to his, smirking slightly at his curious expression.

"Scared I'm going to beat you?" She spoke into the stretching silence, leaning forwards to move her own piece across the board. Shikamaru smirked in reply, lifting his chin out of his palm so he could use the hand to capture the piece she had just moved.

"I don't think so. You're easily distracted," he leaned backwards, placing both hands behind his head and giving her an arrogant smile. She frowned at his obnoxious attitude and scanned the board, hurriedly looking for a way to move and capture one of his pieces. She cursed.

"Checkmate." He murmured to her, closing his eyes before turning around so she got a nice view of the back of his head. He was leaning against the raised shogi board, fully intending to take a nap. Temari narrowed her eyes at the back of the lazy boy's spiky hair and crossed her arms, not lifting her glare from him. He opened one eye and tilted his head backwards to peer at her.

"Can I help you?"

She swiftly placed her hands either side of his resting head and moved forwards, so her face was directly above his. His eyes opened in alarm.

"You're supposed to be making sure my time in Konoha is satisfactory, but you've done nothing but sleep and play shogi." Temari swatted him around the head, moving backwards before Shikamaru's head collided with hers when he sat up quickly. He clutched his head and frowned at her in distress.

"Well, how am I supposed to know what to do? You're a woman - go find someone else to keep you happy." He blew her off easily and stood to his feet, plunging one hand into his pocket and using the other to move aside the slide door to his house. She scowled at his back, rising to her feet and grabbing the back of his collar. Before he got retaliate, she pulled hard and Shikamaru stumbled backwards onto the floor, banging his head against the railing that surrounded the porch.

"What-"

"One more game of shogi. If I win, you have to find something that will keep me entertained, everyday for the rest of this week. You've got no idea how unbelievably boring this village is," she crossed her arms and stood defiantly over his sprawled out form. He narrowed his eyes up at her, clutching his head where it had come into contact with the fencing.

"Fine," he straightened himself up and shuffled his body back over to the board, relaying the pieces that they had previously used. He watched her figure as she moved over to the other side, giving him a victorious smirk.

"You're such a pain," he murmured under his breath. Temari sat down onto the velvet cushion opposite him and crossed her arms, her lips still curled into a vicious smile.

"And? So are you."

~*~

"Checkmate."

He couldn't believe it. He didn't care that surprise had spread across his usually-relaxed face, he was just too focused on the board in front of him. Him and Temari had been playing shogi together for the good part of four years and never had she beaten him. Not once had she managed to even get a check, not once had she come even close to winning the match. Yet she sat on the other side of the wooden board, grinning like a kid on their birthday. He raised his eyes to hers, a light frown settling along his brow.

"You set me up," he growled to her. "For four years, you've pretended to be bad at this and you decided now would be a good time to finally win?"

Temari's grin fell from her face, lowering into a slight smile. "I wish I could say that was my intention, but I really did just win out of luck this time."

Shikamaru's lips twitched. "Shogi isn't a game of luck, Temari."

She stood to her feet, looking out toward the Nara woods, watching as some deer leapt over bushes and trampled shrubbery beneath their feet.

"Maybe you won on purpose, so you'd have no choice but to keep me happy," she returned her gaze to him, her eyes twinkling brightly. The comment and slight innuendo made Shikamaru not only widen his eyes at her, but also made his face heat up. He stumbled to his feet, grumbling to himself.

"Let's go then, trouble," he lifted his face to smirk at her, his previous attitude gone. She looked at him strangely, the never-used-before nickname sending a rather peculiar rush of emotion through her. They stared at each other. She cleared her throat. I hate it when that happens, she thought. There would be times when they would do nothing but stare at each other for a good few minutes, before catching themselves and going back to their task as though it had never happened. But after putting up with it for four years, there wasn't really any weirdness about it.

"Right. Where to then?" She scurried after Shikamaru, whose footsteps clanked as they headed down the few steps that led up to the house. He raised his head to the dark blue sky in thought, his lips pouting outwards and his hands shoved in his pockets. Temari watched him. Adorable, she thought, resisting the urge to laugh to herself. She doubted Shikamaru knew that he pouted his lips like a child when he was thinking particularly hard about something, but she wasn't about to point it out to him.

He brought his eyes back down to hers, catching her studying expression. He threw his head into the direction of the pathway that led through the woods and she nodded, walking quickly to reach his side as he headed toward it.

"Well?" She asked, looking up at him as they entered the dark entrance. He kept his head facing forwards, but moved his dark eyes down to the side to look at her.

"I'm the one who's supposed to keep you entertained, so you can wait and see."

Temari scowled at him and the corner of his lip upturned into a slight smile. Adorable, he thought. Whenever she seemed to be irritated at something – nearly always him – she would frown at him, but her lips pouted too. He doubted she knew that she did it, but he wasn't about to tell her.

The beautiful lights that lit up Konoha appeared in the distance and Temari's eyes temporarily glazed over. She may have said their town was boring, but it was incredibly beautiful at night. The sun was just setting behind the village, making half of the sky a dark blue and another half of it light cobalt. Shikamaru didn't seem at all awed by it – which was only predictable – but she sort of felt sad that she couldn't share the view with someone else, so they could see the beauty of it too. Kankuro and Gaara were hardly people who would take time out of their schedules to gaze over a mesmerising scene.

They entered the paradise of light and Temari was once again struck by how calm, yet noisy, it seemed to be. The Nara compound was the only compound that sat far away from the other hustle and bustle, separated from the vast village by woods that were owned by their family.

"Shikamaru, Temari! Over here!" Shikamaru and Temari turned around, catching Naruto, Sakura, Sai and – surprisingly – Kakashi, sitting in the small alcove of the Ichiraku Ramen stall. Naruto had outstretched an arm and was waving at them to join them. Shikamaru suppressed a groan of annoyance.

"Great," he muttered, walking towards the loud-mouthed blonde. Temari followed, her eyes lighting up as she spotted Sakura. The pink-haired medic smiled at her as they arrived, moving aside so Temari could sit next to her, Kakashi already occupying her other side.

"It's nice to have a bit of feminine company," Sakura laughed humourlessly, throwing a glare at Kakashi who was sitting next to her. Temari looked at the Copy-nin, but he just shrugged innocently, his eye crinkling upward.

"I have no idea why you're looking at me like that, Sakura." He opened his eye to stare back at her. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"Oh? So your perverted comment earlier was just a harmless jumpstart to a conversation?" She snorted and tapped her fingers against the counter, forgetting for a moment that Temari was watching the little tiff. The blonde watched in amusement as Sakura and her sensei stared at each other. Sakura's face was showing annoyance, but her eyes gleamed in excitement.

"I simply asked whether or not you would like to accompany me to the training grounds later to help perfect a jutsu." He told her bluntly, resting his cheek against the palm of his hand and not breaking eye contact with the pink-haired kunoichi. Temari snorted, catching Kakashi's attention only for a split second.

"Unless Temari here wishes to accompany me inste-" He stopped, only to catch Sakura's oncoming wrist that was about to smack him around the head. Sakura's eyebrow was twitching as her ex-sensei began to draw small circles on her wrist, distractedly.

"You asked me to wear my nightclothes. Then asked if I slept naked."

Temari laughed loudly at this, turning away to leave Sakura and Kakashi to their harmless flirting. Her thigh bumped with the person's next to her and she noticed with chagrin that it was Shikamaru's. He was watching her rather intently and she found herself staring back. There it was again. That moment where everything else would be blocked out except the two of them, staring at each other like they were the only thing left in the world.

Then it shattered and Temari was brought back. Naruto was making kissing noises loudly behind Shikamaru and Temari's face flushed, her eyebrow beginning to twitch just like the kunoichi's behind her had.

Temari left the ramen stall shortly afterward, leaving behind a bruised Naruto covered in his own ramen. Shikamaru let out a light snicker, clapping Naruto on the back.

"Women are nothing but trouble and cause pain, Naruto. Emotionally and physically," he threw his eyes over to Sakura, whose mood has substantially changed since earlier and now she and Kakashi were leaning toward each other, engrossed in conversation. He looked away and headed towards a hastily retreating Temari, feeling like he had just invaded into a moment between the pink-haired medic and Kakashi.

"If this is supposed to be entertaining, then you're clearly not the genius everyone thinks you to be." Temari didn't bother looking at him as he caught up, slowing his pace when he reached her side. He looked at her tense face, wondering why her attitude had changed drastically. He resisted the urge to sigh. Women...

"I got a little side-tracked. That wasn't really what I had planned." He gripped her elbow, leading her down a different road. She shook him off, glaring at the floor.

The image of Kakashi and Sakura stayed firmly in her head. She couldn't help the rush of jealousy that ran through her. It was clear that the two were head-over-heels in love, yet neither decided to admit it to each other. But they seemed content with that.

Temari was nineteen and yet she hadn't met anyone who would willingly sit next to her, stare lovingly into her eyes like that, smirk and tease her. As a shinobi, it was stupid to worry about trivial things such as love. But shinobi had a short life and she really needed to grasp a boyfriend while she could. She just didn't know anyone who would be able to do the things to her like Kakashi had done to Sakura. There was no one to capture her and make her feel like she was the most special girl in the world.

"Here, see?" Temari had barely realised how long they had been walking, too caught up in her thoughts to concentrate on their final destination. They had exited the bright village and had clambered up the hill, so they were on top of the Hokage's faces. The village stretched out underneath them, the lights piercing through the dark and flickering like stars. She didn't notice Shikamaru lying down on the floor until she turned to look at his face, noticing then that he had laid himself upon the soft, mossy grass with both hands resting behind his head. She took a step forwards and laid beside him – not too close though.

The sky was even more beautiful than the village that was below them and Temari found herself transfixed.

"Wow," she said, breathless. Shikamaru turned his head to look at her face. She was so distracted that she didn't even notice him staring at her. He smirked in victory.

"Good enough?" He asked her. The tone in his voice brought her attention away from the sky and to him instead, capturing his dark eyes with hers. Her relaxed expression had disappeared and now she was staring at him, a slight gleam in her sapphire orbs.

"Alright. You win today, lazy ass. You've still got the rest of the week until I have to leave, though." Her eyes twinkled mischievously and he let out a huff, turning his gaze back away to the sky.

"I guess I have. How annoying," he muttered, letting his eyes drift to Temari to see her reaction. She didn't even retort, still too distracted by the sky to worry about creating a comeback. He let out a soft snort and the two stared at the sky in silence, an unnoticed change in their relationship shifting between them.

~*~

Shikamaru shivered as a gust of wind blew into the silence, bringing him out of his dreamy trance. Just how long had he and Temari been staring at the sky? He sat up, running a hand along the back of his aching neck and readjusting his jonin vest. He looked over at Temari and noticed with surprise that she had fallen asleep. She was facing him and her hand had come up to rest at the ground in front of her face, her legs twisted around each other.

He sat for a moment, one knee bent and the other stretched out in front of him. Should he wake her? His eyes softened as he examined her sleeping form. He couldn't bring himself to do it – she looked so peaceful. He rose to his feet and bent down, picking her up easily into his muscled arms. He jumped when her arms seemed to instinctively come up to wrap themselves around his neck. He leaped down the Hokage mountain as softly as he could, ignoring the blush that had spread across his annoyed face.

He walked through the light village, receiving adoring glances from people as he strolled through. They whispered, nudged each other and seemed to be looking at both him and Temari with knowing looks. What was their deal? A hand came down to clasp at the front of his vest and he looked down at Temari, alarmed at her sudden contact. The tips of her fingers rubbed through his shirt as she moved her hand once again, clutching onto him like she was about to fall off. Her brow was creased and her teeth had begun to grind against each other.

He ignored walking home slowly and began to leap across the buildings until he reached his home, checking that his parents were sleeping before he took Temari inside. Temari seemed to be whimpering and her face was contorted with pain. Shikamaru resisted the urge to wake her up - wanting to wait until she was lying down - and rushed her to his room, laying her down before shaking her shoulder.

She didn't wake up.

"Temari," he shook her shoulder harder, his voice laden with concern. She had tears streaming down her pale face, her hands still clawing at his shirt and not letting go. Her mouth seemed to be open in a silent scream, like she was choking. He winced as her nails dug through into his chest, dragging them down his skin.

"Temari!" Her eyes shot open, settling immediately on the face that was staring down at hers. It was Shikamaru. The nightmare was over. She leapt forward, keeping a tight hold on his chest and letting the last of her tears drop down her face, onto the black vest beneath his jonin jacket. Shikamaru stared down at her in surprise, quite unsure of what to do.

It wasn't uncommon for shinobi to have nightmares – in fact, it was quite natural. The things they had to do were almost inhuman sometimes, so it was no surprise. But even though nightmares were predictable, sometimes they took a turn for the worst and became almost realistic – like a memory playing back in front of your eyes. These ones were rare.

He moved an unconscious arm around her neck, placing a hand to the back of her head and cradling it into his chest. He moved his other arm to rest loosely around her waist. It was troublesome, but he was the only one to comfort her at the moment.

Her quiet sobs soon faded out into light breathing. He moved his chin away from the top of her head to gaze down. She had fallen asleep again.

Great, he thought, laying her down onto his small bed. Her fingers were still ravelled in his shirt, but he managed to shake off his thick vest before lying down beside her. I better stay to make sure she doesn't have anymore nightmares, he thought. Man, what a drag...

He watched her sleeping face for a while, noticing that her hair was still tied up behind her head, albeit a bit messily. He moved a hand around, taking the hair-ties out before running his hand through her blond locks to loosen them.

Her sleeping form seemed to take this as some kind of comfort, as she suddenly leant forwards, snuggling deeper into the crook of his neck. An awkward blush spread across his cheeks and he forced himself to stare at the wall above the headboard of his bed, ignoring her soft body pressed against his.

This was going to be a long night...

~*~

He woke up the next morning – afternoon rather – to find Temari gone from beside him. He sat up, holding a hand to his head in confusion. She'd left?

He got up, stretching his limbs before leaving the room and entering the living room where his mother and father were sitting. And smiling at him knowingly.

Damn, what is it with that? He thought, sitting at the table with them and sending a wary glance over their shining eyes. His dad – Shikaku – rested his elbows on the table and placed one cheek into the palm of his hand. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at his parents.

"What?"

"You didn't tell me we had a guest last night," his mother finally said, picking up Shikaku's empty plate and standing to leave the room. Shikamaru stared after her in forced casualness, before turning back to Shikaku, who was still staring at him. Shikamaru swallowed.

"She had a nightmare, so I brought her back. You know what shinobi nightmares are like," Shikamaru spoke with seriousness, knowing full well that his father did. Shortly after he had been promoted to jonin, he himself had experienced one after his first B-rank mission and had had trouble sleeping weeks after it.

Shikaku nodded, his suspicious look not leaving his face as he leant backwards into his seat, placing his elbows on the back of it.

"You looked pretty cosy with her last night," he raised one eyebrow. Shikamaru ignored the rush of heat that flew to his face and scowled at his dad.

"She wouldn't let go of me," he frowned, pouted his bottom lip and mirrored his dad's position, placing his elbows onto the back of his seat.

"I thought you said women were 'troublesome'," His mother had returned from the kitchen, placing a fresh glass of orange juice in front of her son. He took it and swallowed half of it, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before answering her question.

"They are," he sighed, placing his unfinished orange juice onto the table before stepping out of his seat, making to leave the living room.

"Going to look for her?" His mother called after him, making him stop in his tracks as she and Shikaku snickered behind his back. He turned to glare at them, staring at their obvious unconcealed attempt at hiding their suspicion. But he was annoyed – he was planning to go and find her.

"She said she'd be in the usual place," his mum gestured with two fingers on each hand, like bunny ears. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at her while Shikaku laughed loudly.

"Honey, how long did it take us to get a usual place?" He asked her mockingly, struggling to keep his face straight.

"I'm leaving," Shikamaru said agitatedly, closing the sliding door that didn't really block out his parents laughter from behind him. They were treating him like some silly teenager – he had only allowed Temari to stay the night because of her nightmare. And why were they implying that wasn't really what happened?

He fought down a blush. Sure, he and Temari had been incredibly close the night before as she still had a lethal death grip on him. What was he supposed to do; force her off of him?

He made his way to his normal cloud-watching spot – their usual place – and caught sight of her blonde hair. The bands had been replaced, separating her hair back into their four separate bunches. She was leaning backwards against the wall, one knee raised with her elbow resting on it.

He clutched a hand to his chest as his heart began to beat irregularly. His head began to spin and he was unable to take his eyes off of her. What was wrong with him?

As his heartbeat evened out, he made his way warily toward her, placing himself accidentally too close. Their hips brushed and she turned around quickly in alarm. Her head had obviously been up in the clouds she was gazing at in the distance.

"Have a good night's sleep?" He couldn't resist tormenting her. His lip twitched upwards into a humourless smile and she stared at him for a moment, focusing on his face. He didn't seem to be mocking her – in fact, he seemed rather concerned.

She smiled back at him, putting her raised right knee down to lift her other. She placed her elbow on it so she could rest her cheek into the palm of her hand and stare deeply back at him.

"Best sleep I've had in ages." She laughed loudly when his expression contorted into an embarrassed cringe. She hit him on his shoulder lightly, tilting her head onto it afterward and smiling contently.

"Thank you," she whispered to him, wondering just when it was the invisible barrier between her and Shikamaru had disappeared. His cheeks were still yet to lose the pink tinge as the girl rested against him. When was it he had become so attuned to her warmth next to him?

"It was nothing," he said after a while, tilting his own head against hers. He played with a tendril hanging from his black pants for a while, unsure of what action to make next. This worried him. Shikamaru – the great genius who always planned everything, predicted all of his enemies next movements and who's intellect surpassed everyone elses – was stuck with what to do next, which nothing but a girl sitting next to him.

He didn't really have to plan. A familiar, cheeky blonde's face appeared right in his, upside down. A stupid grin was spread across the face and the eyes had crinkled upwards.

"Shikamaru..." Naruto said in a devious tone. Temari flinched away from Shikamaru, jumping to her feet and staring at Naruto in shock. Shikamaru done the same, making sure he kept a safe distance away from the irritating boy. He stared at him in annoyance.

"NARUTO!" He shouted, his pink tinge turning into a visible red. The boy that was hanging upside down from the railing above them, flipped and landed a few feet away from Shikamaru, his hands placed behind his head with the cheesy grin still across his face.

"I couldn't resist," he opened his eyes and studied the two flustered shinobi, noticing that the both of them were avoiding each others gaze. His lips thinned and quirked upwards at one side, confused about their actions.

There was silence. Until Sakura appeared at the top of the stairs to the building, her fists trembling with rage. Kakashi was being dragged behind her, his gloved fingers entwined with hers.

"Naruto! We told you to stay away!" Sakura yelled, progressing towards Naruto. Naruto looked alarmed at her sudden appearance and made to back away.

"Sakura, I-" He was clobbered around the head, sending him backwards off of the building and onto the roof opposite. The civilians from down below looked up in shock as an orange blur flew over their heads, but this didn't concern Sakura. She relaxed her fist, smiling sweetly at Shikamaru before sending Temari an apologetic look. Kakashi was still staring after Naruto, a hand held to his own head as if to keep it from spinning in worry.

"Sakura, I think you could have seriously hurt him this time-" Kakashi's voice broke, but Sakura shook her head and they watched as Naruto got up on the other side, clutching his head in pain. She smiled up at Kakashi.

"See? He's still able to stand," she leant upwards and pressed a fleeting kiss to Kakashi's masked lips, dragging him down the stairs.

"You worry too much," Shikamaru heard her say as she headed down the stairs. He was left alone with Temari, again. He turned to her almost cautiously, thrown off by the expression spread across the blonde's face. She was staring after Sakura with a faraway look in her eyes and a small, happy smile.

Girls are just so confusing, he thought, letting out a exasperated sigh. Temari brought her gaze away from the entrance of the stairs to look at him, noticing with amusement that he was staring at her with a troubled expression on his face.

"You still need to keep me entertained, lazy ass," she said, although less ferocious as the first time. He fed her a smirk and crossed his arms, looking to the sky again. The thoughtful expression crossed over his face once again and she smiled. Her heart jumped. Her eyebrows shot upwards and she brought her eyes down subconsciously to her chest. What was that?

She raised her eyes to look at Shikamaru. Thump. There it was again. It skipped a beat, sending blood around her body quicker than before. She kept her eyes on Shikamaru, swallowing in worry as she scanned his cute face, slender shoulders and – moving her eyes down his body, her mouth ran dry – his well-fitted trousers.

He brought his eyes down from the sky, a simple smile spreading across his face as he had an idea. When he realised she wasn't looking at his face – more of his body – he frowned slightly, heat rushing to his face. Temari brought her eyes back up to his, forcing a casual expression. She knew she'd been caught.

"Back to my house," he shoved his hands in his pockets and started down the stairs. Temari followed after him, staring curiously at his back. How was he going to entertain her at his house? Her heart thudded suddenly. Inappropriate images, Temari, she told herself, going red at the pictures that flashed through her mind. But she couldn't help it – her mind seemed to be going on its own accord. Hot images of Shikamaru, pressing his lips to her throat, entwining his tongue with hers in a fierce battle, pressing his warm hands to her thighs-

She slipped. Shikamaru heard her stumble and turned quickly, catching her before she could fall down the rest of the stairs in a crumpled heap. His hands unconsciously went to her waist and immediately, he regretted his actions. He could have held her by her shoulders, grasped her upper arms. But no, he wrapped his arms around her waist and she fell into him, sending them both down the stairs in slow motion. He flew into the air, falling down the last few feet of stairs with Temari in his arms. He landed at the bottom, hissing in pain as his back came into contact with the gravelly path beneath him.

It was while before either of them moved. None of the people walking past had even bothered to spare them a glance. Ignorant idiots, Shikamaru thought, groaning as he removed his arms from around Temari's waist and pushed himself up from the floor. Her arms trembled as she pushed herself up from his torso, pretending not to notice that their legs were entwined with each other.

"I'm such a clutz," she let out a short laugh, in unison with Shikamaru. He winced when she moved off of him, noticing with a groan that his back was severely scratched up and bruised. Temari noticed with annoyance that her ankle had also been twisted.

"You really are nothing but trouble," he whispered hoarsely as she held out a hand for him. He took it and she pulled him up, ignoring how comfortable his hand felt in hers. He stood there for a moment, keeping his warm hand softly in hers and they stared at each other. It was happening again – they blocked out the world.

Shikamaru was the first one to shake himself out of it, releasing her hand and walking forwards, wincing in pain as his back moved. Temari didn't move, her ankle stopping her from doing so. She had a little healing experience and could null the pain in her ankle until she reached the Nara compound, but she was sure Shikamaru was in a lot more pain than she was. And it was all to make sure she didn't fall down a couple of stairs.

"Shikamaru," her voice called after him and she hobbled after him, the pain in her ankle temporarily disappated. He turned around and she was stunned to see he had a deep frown on his face. Her voice was lost for a split second, before she coughed.

"Do you want to go to the hospital and get your back checked out?" She asked almost timidly. He turned back around and shoved his hands in his pocket.

"The hospital is on the other side of the village," he sighed and lifted his head to the sky. "I really can't be bothered to walk all the way there," he turned his head to look over his shoulder. "Besides, the Nara compound is closer."

She nodded and scurried over to his side, linking her arm in his. He turned to stare at her in surprise and she replied by letting a smirk crossed over her face.

"I can see how much pain you're in, crybaby. The least I can do is help," Shikamaru didn't know whether to smile or scowl. She had insulted him, yet offered to help. Sighing, he walked through a passageway, heading to his house. He was relieved when he saw it. His back was really beginning to ache, the bruises beginning to form rather quickly.

He plodded up the stairs, helping Temari as much as she was helping him as her ankle was still throbbing. He smirked and took her through the door, calling out to his parents. No response.

"Guess they're out," he swallowed. Alone with Temari. Again.

She tugged on his arm toward the direction of his bedroom and he stared at her back, a look of worry crossing over his face. She laughed at his expression, although was slightly blushing in unison. He was obviously worried that he was planning to pounce on him.

"Relax. I've got a little healing knowledge – I'll do your back for you." She refused to meet his eye as she entered the room, knowing that her own eyes would show embarrassment and slight excitement. Instead, she threw herself onto his unmade bed and patted the front with forced dominance.

"Sit," she ordered. He warily let himself in, closing the door behind him. He almost narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her. She was strange – acting timid one moment and her usual self the next. What was her deal?

However, he reluctantly moved forwards and sat in front of her, shaking off the jonin vest he was wearing. Then he pulled off his undershirt, revealing his pale back to her. She sucked in a breath – not only at how delicious it looked – but at the purple bruises that were beginning to form. She brushed a finger over one of them, noticing him go rigid.

"Would it help if I said sorry again?" She said. It would have probably been tender, if she hadn't said it in her usual arrogant tone. Shikamaru resisted the urge to turn and glare at her. So, the old Temari was back?

"No – somehow I think it won't." He said it so harshly, her caressing finger instantly withdrew again. A frown spread across her face. What was his problem?

"Alright." She said coldly, placing a hand on his distractingly warm back and brushing her fingertips lightly against his spine. He shivered, and not because her chakra seemed to be rather chilling.

She didn't fail to notice this, but decided to ignore it. There were sensitive spinal nerves in the back, hence the reason most people seemed to get – she coughed – aroused, after being tenderly caressed. She couldn't say she was doing it on purpose.

The bruises slowly started to fade to a dull yellow and she allowed the green chakra to fade away, stroking her entire hand down his back in a finalising gesture. He froze again.

"Shikamaru, what is your problem?" She said this out loud, uncrossing her legs and stepping off of the bed to stare angrily at his face. He stared back at her blankly, his chin rested in the palm of his hand.

"What makes you think there's something wrong?" He grumbled, turning his head away as though stropping. She let out a bark of disbelief.

"You know how I know? You're acting like a child. I know I tripped and hurt you and I already said sorry. What more do you want? Do you want me to kiss it better?" She regretted her choice of words there. Shikamaru shivered again at the picture of Temari kissing his back tenderly and dragging her fingers down it like she had a moment ago... He shook his head. He'd always said women were annoying.

It was Asuma that had started that thought. After his death, he had left Kurenai to deal with a child on her own. He knew that if he was to fall in love with someone, then the same thing could happen to them. He didn't want that to happen to anyone. He didn't want to hurt the one he loved if he was to die on a mission.

"I can't have you," Shikamaru grumbled, turning away so his mouth was hidden in his hand. Temari stared at him in shock for a while, her mouth falling open. Had he just said what she thought he said?

He couldn't have her... she frowned. Or he didn't want her. He had never made it a secret that he thought women were a nuisance and now he was declaring that for her. Anger flared through her.

"You're a sexist bastard," she spat, making her way to storm out of the room. She went as far as the door, before she found her body immobile. Her arm went by itself to close the door back behind her and she turned, her eyes wide with shock. She turned back to Shikamaru's, whose own shadow was connected with hers. He had stood up from the bed and his own eyes were clashing intensely with hers. He approached her suddenly, releasing the Shadow Possession before bringing his hands up to her cheeks, cupping them and crashing his own lips down onto hers. She yelped in surprise at the feel of Shikamaru's lips against hers and gasped when he moved away.

"I can't have you. But that doesn't mean I don't want you." He whispered into her lips, his eyes half-closed. Her own eyes were wide as they stared at him, then lidded shut when his breath engulfed her lips. She didn't really get what he had said, but she wasn't about to ask for an explanation.

"You're such a pain," she whispered to him. He smirked at her.

"And? So are you..." He closed his lips over hers again and then they were kissing, heated touches and wanted caresses making them gasp and moan until their passion was fulfilled.

~*~

"So, would you say I kept you entertained for the week?" Shikamaru was leaning against the gates to Konoha, surprising Temari to say the least. She was leaving very early in the morning and was surprised that he had bothered to get up to say goodbye. A light blush spread over her cheeks as she remembered the night before – how he had made her gasp and plead for him. Well... that had happened every night for the past week, but last night had been particularly pleasurable.

She masked her emotions and smirked back at the lazy boy, walking towards him. He reached forwards and cupped her face in his hands once again, pressing a tender, fleeting kiss to her lips. She smiled, her eyes focused on his slim, soft lips.

"I'll be back for the chuunin exam in two weeks," she whispered. He smirked, resting her forehead against hers and entwining their hands. She moved back and began to walk away from him, before the distance between them was too far to keep their hands together. Slowly, their lingering touch was gone.

"I'll be waiting," he muttered more to himself then to her. She turned around and smiled, as though she had heard his words.

I had to go and fall in love, he placed both hands behind his head and leant back against the gates of Konoha, smirking up at the clouds.

How troublesome...

A/N: It's late, I'm tired and there's school tomorrow. My first go at ShikaTema and there really isn't much plot to this. It follows the original Naruto storyline too, so no Sasuke or Asuma.

The title and subtitle is based on Ordinary day by Vanessa Carlton. Mhm.

I've edited it a little now. The mistakes should be gone. Point any out I've made.

For some reason, my heart really wasn't into this. If you've read my other fics, you'll notice the style of writing is slightly different. Also, I think they're a little OOC. This is mainly because I find it hard to get into Temari and Shikamaru's character - they're very complex people.

Anyway, review, insult, abuse. I don't care. I love it all.